Vikram AhujaCOVID-19 changed how employees feel and think about work, and made leaders change how organizations are run. According to recent studies, 16% of companies in the world are 100% remote in 2022 and 99% of people would choose to work remotely for the rest of their work lives, even if it was just part-time. Companies are forced to look hard at what employees want and if research is anything to go by, what employees are looking for in the future of work is more freedom, flexibility, and choice from the workplace.
The rules have changed, there is no more room for ‘business as usual’ and employees are quick to move away from organizations that are fixed in their ways of working. Companies need to think about how to give their employees the flexibility to prioritize a good work-life balance. Despite the rhetoric about wanting to create a better work-life balance for employees though, companies rarely follow through. The truth is that talent always comes first and it’s well known that employee engagement is critical to achieve business success.
So, in this war for talent, companies need to find ways to attract talent while retaining current employees, if they want to gain and maintain a competitive edge. And offering flexibility to employees can be that determining factor. According to a report by Microsoft, 3 in 4 Indian workers are keen on taking up flexible work opportunities. That’s 74% of the workforce!
Why working from anywhere works
According to Gartner, ‘anywhere operations’ is best defined as an IT model ensuring an efficient workflow, while also maintaining uninterrupted support and assistance for clients and customers. Working from anywhere essentially makes it possible for an employee to work from wherever they choose and utilizes distributed infrastructure for the deployment of business offerings.
With this definition in mind, it’s easy to see where the idea of anywhere operations comes into play for many companies. With the rapid growth in businesses across IT industries and the changing landscape of the workforce, leaders have had to adjust their internal processes in order to meet emerging needs and demands.
One of the biggest benefits of a flexible working model in terms of location is access to a larger talent pool. Now that companies are no longer restricted to hiring with the intention of having an employee come to the office every day, they can choose to hire skilled talent anywhere in the world, who were previously inaccessible.
But the benefits of this way of working go beyond attracting talent. According to this ‘Future of Work’ report which explores how the pandemic has changed an employee’s attitudes, beliefs and expectations about the workplace, here’s what makes working from anywhere more productive:
- A more flexible schedule (31%)
- No commute (26%)
- More control over workspace (24%)
- Fewer interruptions (24%)
- More privacy and personal space (23%)
The four most common types of flexible working arrangements
There is no one size fits all when it comes to organizations working arrangements. The nature of some businesses might require that an employee come into the office a few times a week, but others might not have this requirement and might decide that going completely remote is the way that best suits their job function.
Flextime working
This type of working arrangement is also often referred to as customized working hours. It has shown to be a huge benefit to employees because it allows them to choose the hours they would like to work; the only accounting factor here is that the employee completes the contracted number of hours per week. Employees who are juggling caring for their families, personal responsibilities, and the like, are likely to be more productive and engaged when given the option to choose their working hours based on their schedules.
Remote working
In such an arrangement, employees work from completely remote locations, and there is no central office location that they need to report into. Basically, their physical presence is not a requirement for the nature of their work. The key here is to ensure that your remote employees have necessary equipment and technology to do their job. This has been a big benefit for companies during and after the pandemic because it has opened up the talent pool, allowing them to hire from anywhere in the world.
Telecommuting
Telecommuting is when employees work outside of the physical office but come into the office when scheduled/expected. According to Gallup, the telecommuting schedule that offers the most productivity is when an employee comes into the office two or three days per week (in a five-day work week). The two main benefits of this working arrangement are improved morale and reduced absenteeism. The main difference between a remote and telecommuting arrangement is that because telecommuting employees need to come into the office on occasion, they mostly live locally.
Hybrid working
There are quite a few variations in definitions but essentially, hybrid working refers to an arrangement where some employees work from a physical office while others work from anywhere (in the world). According to Accenture’s Future of Work study, 83% of workers would prefer a hybrid model. One of the biggest benefits of this working arrangement is that employees can choose to work when and how they’re most productive, and this in turn has obvious benefits for organizations. It also opens up access to a larger talent pool which might have been previously inaccessible markets for companies.
Companies have had some time to adapt and ace this new way of work, and one thing is clear – flexibility is the new norm. Employees want to work in spaces and in ways that make them feel most engaged and productive. Creating policies and best practices to facilitate workplace flexibility will help you attract the right talent for the job.
Benefits of Flexible working for employees
Companies are seeing a drastic change in the global workforce as the flexible working policy is becoming a priority. In a poll by ManpowerGroup Solutions mentioned in Forbes, approximately 40% of candidates worldwide said that workplace flexibility was one of their top three considerations. It is evident that employees are now looking at healthy and improved arrangements that result in benefits such as:
Improved Work/Life Balance
The once-upon-a-time myth of having a work-life balance is transforming. Employees are working better with flexible work arrangements than previously as it is improving employee productivity. Forbes states that according to the Gartner 2021 Digital Worker Experience Survey, 43% of participants feel that having flexible work schedules helped them be more productive, while 30% of participants said that spending less or no time commuting helped them be more productive.
Flexible work in definition builds a healthy relationship with work and improves employee engagement, builds motivation, and creates a sense of job satisfaction. One of the factors of a toxic culture is not having a healthy work-life balance which can be easily terminated by improving the quality of work-life equilibrium at the workplace.
Enhanced Well-Being
The mental health of the employee in a flexible work culture improves as the aspect of heavy stress reduces and they are engaged with their well-being and feel more connected with their family and friends while efficiently handling work. The strict work schedule with no flexibility at the workplace induces more anxiety and thereby reduces efficiency at the workplace, and often employees become prone to burnout. WHO mentions that modifying one’s schedule lessened the possibility of job stress by 20% and raised the possibility of job fulfillment by 60%. Employees are more likely to recommend the company to others if the work culture is flexible and healthy.
Benefits of Flexible working for employers
Higher Staff Retention Rates
More adaptability reduces absenteeism, staff attrition and improves employee retention rates. Employee engagement and productivity are also increased as a result of the feeling of total control over their lives and careers. Again, the confidence a company has in people helps employees feel appreciated, and as a result, they will put additional effort into their work and the success of the company as a whole. As per the EY 2021 Work Reimagined Employee Survey, 54% of employees from around the world would think about quitting their jobs after the COVID-19 pandemic if they are not given some kind of flexibility at the workplace.
Attract Top Talent
Talent from major work profiles like software developers, web developers, data analysts, data scientists, marketers, recruiters, editors, and designers are more likely to accept an offer that comes with a flexible working atmosphere, which broadens the scope of recruiting location-independent remote teams from around the world. Talent 500 specializes in hiring and creating remote teams of talented people from different parts of the globe. In a PwC survey, 63% of respondents said that they prefer some mix of in-person and remote working – the same proportion also said that they expect their employer to offer that mix for at least the next 12 months.
Boost Productivity
Offering flexibility is essential to achieving the work-life balance; now that employees from the above sectors are familiar with what it’s like to work remotely and in a traditional office setting—the liberty and the creative freedom that flexible working models offer are more handsome than making the commute to the office, thereby increasing the productivity of the employee by reducing stress and conserving time. Also, flexible working increases motivation and engagement and allows employees to be more productive during their working hours.
Promotes Greater Diversity & Inclusivity
Technology is a significant factor in bringing communities together from different parts of the world, and today we have tools that enable inclusivity and diversity in the workplace by helping us bring talents from diverse backgrounds and explore new perspectives that employees bring. Building a work environment for employees with different backgrounds will increase employee retention and enhance the workplace culture. A greater range of people with physical disabilities or health concerns, whether temporary or chronic, have career options because of flexibility in work location and timings. They may now work from home without being marked out, and moreover, a variety of online collaboration tools, such as video captioning, text-to-speech apps, and adapted displays and input devices, boost accessibility.
Key Challenges
Contrary to the positive outlook of flexible working, certain challenges arise in flexible working, such as blurring of the line between professional and personal spaces while working from home, procrastination, IT security, isolation of employees, unfair dismissal of an employee, or how to manage flexible working models and various other challenges. These concerns could be addressed effectively if organizations invest in creating a healthy digital environment for their employees. Business leaders and recruiting management can work together and strategize to avoid such challenges and operate fairly and efficiently.
Implementation
Implementing flexible working in the organization possesses certain challenges as well. Managing different teams from different zones, while important for teamwork and collaboration, can be quite demanding. Additionally, ensuring that workers have access to the workspaces requires robust workspace management and scheduling platforms to keep up with everyone’s business requirements. Organizations can take up holistic methods in creating strategies, such as introducing flexible work hours policy to maintain employee’s work timings so that the work is produced on time. Also, implementing them fairly to initiate a healthy experience for the employees working remotely and flexibly.
Culture
The stigma around flexible working is quite prevalent in offices. Employees can be treated unfairly if there is no proper structure imposed in the organization. In the case of remote working models, miscommunication can also occur; It is likely that talented employees can be ruled out from important discussions due to their status as ‘remote workers’.
The step to forming a thriving flexible working model is to set prerogatives as an organization where employees and employers can work in a cohesive environment without anyone standing on the sidelines. Firms must ensure clear communications among the teams, visibility for employees across the board, and responsibility towards eradicating such disparities.
Security
Flexible working from any part of the world presents a new set of challenges— maintaining security, the IT teams will receive a set of new security issues daily. From ransomware to malware, cyberattacks have become prominent in recent years. To tackle cyber security issues, organizations must build awareness among employees to work with caution and practice cyber safety to avoid cyber threats. Practicing flexible IT support to keep risks under surveillance allows the employees to work productively and efficiently without constraints.
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Harsha Satyakam
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